S2 85/15 S bridge pickup failure?

[18BXRTwin]

Hey there folks. Hoping someone can help troubleshoot something. Have an S2 Standard 24 that until recently had a non-stock humbucker in the bridge (installed by me). Everything worked fine - no issues.

Yesterday I moved the non-PRS p'up to another guitar, and it the original 85/15 back in the S2. Verified the wiring against the diagram available in the support area: red to switch, green & white to push-pull tone pot lug, black & bare grounded to top of tone pot.

Now - the push/pull pot doesn't seem to do anything when the bridge pickup is selected. I know the 85/15 is bright, but it almost sounds like it's stuck in single coil mode. Push/pull works fine with the switch in both the neck & middle position - I can hear the tone change. But not in the bridge position. Volume & tone knobs otherwise work as expected with the pickup.

I tried to test resistance, but am not sure I was doing it right. On the neck, I got 1.889 when tapped, and .0L in humbucker mode; bridge showed 1.809 no matter pot position (in/out).

So - did I screw something up? Is it possible I have a bad push/pull? A bad pickup? Thoughts on how to confirm either?

Thanks!!
AJ

 

[bodia]

Calling @garrett to the house phone...

 

[18BXRTwin]

Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated. Prior aftermarket humbucker worked fine in that spot, and the 85/15 (s?) just sounds ‘twanky’ and thin, with no difference between pot in/out. Makes me think it’s the pickup, and not the switch or wiring.... but I’m not confident enough to stake my life on it. (One of my kids’, perhaps, depending on the day.

 

[pac90]

you mean this diagram?

https://www.prsguitars.com/documents/s2_customs_standards_mira_starla_wiring_schematics.pdf

xcheck you did the correct red wire at switch and lugs on tone pot?

 

[18BXRTwin]

you mean this diagram?

https://www.prsguitars.com/documents/s2_customs_standards_mira_starla_wiring_schematics.pdf

xcheck you did the correct red wire at switch and lugs on tone pot?

Yep. That’s the one. Verified every way I can. And - confirmed that prior pickup was wired the same way (brand uses different wire colors, but otherwise same setup).

 

[garrett]

Since the pickup worked before, I'd assume it's a wiring issue . I'd start by checking to make sure that no bare wires are touching things they shouldn't be. From there, double check your connections vs. the diagram. Then reflow your solder joints to make sure the connections are good.

 

[18BXRTwin]

Well - to be clear, for the past year or so, it’s been in a guitar I didn’t play (son stole it when I put the SD in). I wanted the SD in another guitar, so ‘stole’ the 85/15 back to return it to the S2. My son had said the 85/15 didn’t sound like a humbucker in his Strat, but he figured he may have wired it wrong. He has so many guitars that he never got around to trying to fix it.

Anyway, I’ll quadruple-check the wiring and solder points l, even though I basically already undid and resoldered everything once already.

 

[garrett]

Gotcha, makes sense. Maybe the pickup developed a fault.

I'm not sure what's going on with your resistance measurements, but you could do the tried and true screwdriver tap test to see if both sides of the pickup are transmitting.

 

[18BXRTwin]

Never one to make my life easier, I put nickel/chrome covers on both pickups. Lol. I’ll see what I can do tho. Thanks again for taking the time to read & offer ideas, though.

 

[18BXRTwin]

Ok - Revisiting this after more research & testing. First, I figured out how to properly test the pickups in & out of the guitar, which helped. (Ugh)
Neck: 8.08 / 4.87
Bridge: 4.35 - pot in or out... Didn't matter.

Removed the bridge pickup. Tested 'red' to 'black' wires only - got 9.12. Wtf???

To make a long story short - I had soldered BOTH the black AND the bare wires to the top of the tone pot. Doing that results in 4.35. Remove the bare wire, and everything seems to work as intended. In the guitar, I get like 8.95 in humbucker mode; 5.84-ish in single coil mode (pot out). That seems right.

Now - the question: Is this the correct wiring??
- Red to 3-way switch
- Green & white to tone pot lug (opposite same from neck pickup)
- Black soldered to top of tone pot
- Bare... completely free & not attached to anything

If so, it's a simple case of "the idiot did it wrong". If this isn't right.... but things seem to work as intended... then what?

Thanks a ton for any help/confirmation!